Exchange Students Lifestyle

Activities To Do this winter for young internationals in Montreal

Despite the cold weather, December is definitely not a month to stay inside! Montreal offers a variety of activities for everyone and most of them are free or very cheap 😉 Check out this list for a few events you don’t want to miss out! 👇

A winter must! Usually free of charge for those who bring their own skates. Montreal skating rinks offer a cheap, easy to learn activity great for all sorts of occasions, especially if it's your first year adapting to Montreal's chilly weather. Here's a list of places to ice skate in Montreal.

Nov. 27th

Just because it's cold outside, it doesn't mean you can't party on a rooftop. Well, maybe not at most rooftop terrasses, as many of the city's elevated eateries have closed for the season, but not at the SAT's Foodlab "Nordic terasse.

Feb. 2nd

InterStude takes you on an gigantic adventure where you'll see the highest waterfalls in the province of Quebec while they are half frozen and learn about the history of North America while exploring landmarks of Quebec's Province Capital.

Jan. 20th

InterStude invites you to have 7 HOURS OF FUN in a Winter Wonderland, rafting the Canadian Way 1h30 away from Montreal, you can also do Tubing, Rafting, Ice Skating (rentals not included), Horse Slide ride, Cross-country skiing (rentals not included).

Jan. 17th to Feb. 2nd

Feb. 8th

Enjoy a unique Canadian Winter Cultural experience you'll never relive again!!
2.) 4.5 hours of Ice fishing on a frozen lake in the middle of nowhere ... you may even catch dozen of fishes because they feed them all summer long to have a good winter ice fishing season.

Feb. 10th

Don't miss the chance to visit the Parliament in Canada's capital, Ottawa.
Also ice Skate on the World Guinness Record largest naturally frozen ice rink in the world (7.8 kilometers long) and celebrate Winter the Canadian way at the Winterlude festival while enjoying all its winter challenges & activitiesText

Jan 13-21st.

BARBEGAZI festival will be back in is usual home in January. It is all in beauty that Barbegazi will welcome you to try the winter challenge for free. Yes, you read well, a real Barbegazi will be there!

Call it what you will: sugar shack, sap house, sugar shanty, diabetes development center, these cabins are just one of the reasons why Montreal is so great. They're where the delicious maple syrup is tapped, and where you can get an entire five-course meal drenched in the stuff -- and these are the best ones...Here's the list.

While we’ve got some serious competition from the Rockies out west, Montreal’s no pushover when it comes to skiing. You’re an hour away from the Laurentians, a chain of mountains famous for its solid slopes. All equipment is available for rent, and you can find great packages (including transportation, rental and ski ticket) online for most of the pretty peaks. If you’re more of a cross-country type, it’s even easier: opportunities are available on the island, including at Parc Maisonneuve, and on Mont Royal.

The beauty of this ancient tradition is that you can pretty much do it wherever there is snow; all you need is the equipment. Luckily that’s not an issue, as at most winter resorts, they offer equipment rentals on site, allowing you to go off and explore the wilderness at your own pace. If you’re looking to do it closer to home, Parc Jean-Drapeau and Parc Mont-Royal are a metro-ride away, and offer some of the most scenic and accessible snowshoeing options out there.

There’s nothing that says Montreal quite like snowmobiles. After all, they were invented by a Quebecois company. It’s only normal you’d want to partake in what some consider a national sport, and why not? It’s the best way to explore the snow-filled landscapes at exhilarating speeds, and feel like a frontier explorer.

If you’ve (understandably) decided that the best way to get through winter is to pamper yourself, we definitely get it. The most amazing way to do that is to visit one of the many Nordic Spas in and around the city. There’s nothing quite as relaxing as hot baths nestled in the snow, followed by a massage or a nice stop-by at the sauna. Thanks to spas, you can enjoy the snow at a comfortable and rejuvenating distance, and feel like a King or Queen doing it. Here are a few zen-provoking options.

La Poutine Week started 7 years ago in Montreal. The festival now boasts over 300,000 participants in all Canadian cities and internationally.

La Poutine Week is a 1-week long poutine festival from the 1st to the 7th of February 2019. If you think your restaurant has got what it takes to partake, register your magical poutine dish using the form below.

It’s that time of the year where we all dress in Green. To make the most of this holiday, we are going to the biggest Irish City in United States, Boston. So be ready to turn leprechaun for a whole weekend while traveling back in time on the streets of one of America’s first city and get your green on in Boston with us, where we will celebrate St. Patrick’s Day the Interstude way!

Twenty years! Now that calls for a real celebration, which is exactly what this 20th edition of MONTRÉAL EN LUMIÈRE, presented by Bell, promises to be. This year’s exceptional program was elaborated after some healthy and constructive introspection on how far the festival has come over the years. At the very beginning, the idea that inspired Alain Simard and led to the first edition, in 2000, was to energize Montreal during the winter months; to bring some warmth, light, festivities and magic to the city, in the heart of Quartier des spectacles.